Every morning Anna and Isaiah get extra play time together while Becca is working on her reading lesson. Sometimes they’re the best of buds and sometimes they love annoying each other. Love them!
Monthly Archives: October 2017
Jarai Ladies Bible Teachers
Every other Friday afternoon I get together with the ladies who teach the ladies Bible class at our church. Right now we’re going through the book of John. Each week, I go over two lessons with the ladies and then they teach the lessons the following Sundays. We communicate in Khmer, but the ladies teach the class in Jarai.
This month we got ahead (partly because I taught the Sunday class one week and partly because we were able to go over three lessons in one meeting). I thought we could use the extra time to get together at our house for a time of fellowship. When I invited the ladies to come, you would have thought I had invited them to a hanging…they gave me all sorts of excuses for not coming. Finally, I convinced them to come. I told them it would be short.
I was a bit nervous that things wouldn’t go smoothly. About an hour before I picked the ladies up, I came up with a craft and activity to do. Josh and I just finished working on a song (Romans 5:8 in Jarai), so I taught that to the ladies and we made a simple craft with the verse on it. I think they all enjoyed doing it. Afterwards I served pumpkin bread (think a cross between bread and pie), brownies, and cucumbers (the pumpkin bread was the hit). It was fun to be able to bond a little more with these precious ladies. So thankful for them!
Happy 19 Months Clara!
Ok, so I lied last month…now (as of this week) Clara is official weaned. Sweet girl. She had a really rough time with it and was very emotional for a few weeks, but now she’s back to her normal self. I tried to tell her she was spoiled and that none of her siblings got to nurse this long, but it didn’t seem to impact her. And I must be getting older, since I wasn’t in a hurry either.
Clara is always on the move. She’s fast. Fun. And loves mischief. Loves to laugh and play rough. She loves looking at our animal encyclopedias every morning and any other chance she has. She just loves animals. And wow is Clara a talker! She fits in with our family perfectly.
Check out the teeth. Clara’s teeth definitely have their own idea about the order they’re presenting themselves.
One thing I’ve really been enjoying is some extra time playing with Clara. When Isaiah was this age we were traveling doing fund raising. When Anna was this age we had moved to Ban Lung and were trying to figure out life. This is the first time since 2012 that I don’t have to start all over again and figure out life. I’m loving it!
So thankful for these precious years with our kids. We are blessed! Happy 19-month birthday Clara Bear!
Family Night
Every other week we try to have a family night. It’s usually on Tuesday or Wednesday night, depending on our schedule. Sometimes family nights include special meals. This week we grilled hotdogs and hamburgers (my first attempt at making hamburgers from ground beef), mac & cheese, and brownie sundaes. These meals can be time consuming, since I also must make the hotdog rolls and hamburger buns. Josh grilled the meat on our Cambodian clay pot grill. (I’m very thankful for noodles and Velveeta cheese, which makes that an easy process.) We’re able to order the hotdogs and ground beef from a restaurant company in Phnom Penh. Thankful we have that option to provide us some fun meals.
Isaiah was in charge of dessert. It was a hit! He made brownies and added ice cream, whipped topping, and Hershey’s chocolate syrup.
For family night, Becca and Isaiah gave a “brass band: concert. They were quite excited about it. Afterwards Anna did a show with her Little People. Usually Josh and I do a show, but this week we didn’t. After all the shows, we played a few games and then headed to bed.
Our family nights are very simple: sometimes we do individual plays, sometimes we play hide-n-seek, sometimes card games, or sometimes each kid picks an activity for us to do. Our kids are not hard to please and it’s a wonderful way for us to relax and enjoy some extra time together. Thankful for the family God has blessed us with.
(Photos were taken on our phones…which don’t take very good pictures, but are much easier to snap pictures with.)